DAVID REUTIMANN
No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
Talladega Superspeedway
CORNELIUS, N.C. — This weekend when the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota arrives at Talladega Superspeedway it will get there safely with one of the best truck drivers in the NASCAR garage. Last weekend in Charlotte, Aaron’s Dream Machine hauler driver Glenn Shano was awarded second place in the Freightliner Run Smart Driver Challenge and third place in the Pilot Flying J Truck Driver Challenge.
GLENN SHANO ON FREIGHTLINER RUN SMART DRIVER CHALLENGE:“Freightliner puts on a great challenge that both the Nationwide and the Cup Series guys enjoy – so there are quite a few participants in it. Every time they have a challenge it’s a process of elimination where they cut it down by half the field after each challenge. We end up with four competitors by the last competition. This past week they had the final four competitors compete on Thursday and then they crowned a champion on Sunday before the race. It’s a really neat deal and a great opportunity as a truck driver to get out there and show everyone what you can do. All the truck drivers get to know each other a little better at the meets and it’s fun to compete with each other. I really enjoy it and look forward to it each year. This is my fifth year and I’ve been working at getting better each year. To finish second in my fifth year I think I’m doing pretty well and I look forward to hopefully having a chance to win it all next year.”
ON SAFE DRIVING:“Freightliner not only supplies us with the haulers that we use on the road – I think about 85 percent of the garage is supplied by Freightliner – but they also help promote safe driving and having good driving records. That’s why they have some of these driving challenges to help us work on our skills and get better as drivers. They want us to get down the road without any incidents. Really it’s a lot of fun. It’s a little nerve racking when you get near the end, but the people are fantastic and they are behind us 100 percent. We hope that what we do going down the road gives them a good return on what they’re doing for us.”
ON PILOT FLYING J TRUCK DRIVER CHALLENGE:“The Pilot competition is a little different. There are four competitions throughout the year so it’s pretty intense. It’s a similar course, but it’s a little bit different in the way that they test your skills. Everyone starts off with 1,000 points and then when you hit cones or make mistakes in the obstacles that you go through they deduct points, so you want to end the season with as many points as you can. You also get bonus points for finishing first, second or third. They also have three quizzes at the end which is just a little something else to get you to grab your (Department of Transportation) book, open it up, read it and make you think about it a little more to brush up on your knowledge. It’s slightly different, but both competitions are a lot of fun.”
ON NASCAR HAULER DRIVERS:“I put these NASCAR truck drivers at the top of the list in terms of their skills on the road – I really do. I know that there are a lot of good drivers on the road, but we have a huge billboard on the side of our trucks and it means a lot to us, the company and the sponsorship that’s on there. We really have to watch ourselves and make sure that we drive in a respectful manner and follow the rules of the road – and we do. As a rule I think most of these guys out here are pretty courteous.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· Reutimann at Talladega:In nine career NSCS starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Reutimann has one top-five, three straight top-15s and led laps in three of his last four starts. He led 14 laps and finished fourth in this race last year. In the spring race he started and finished 14th without leading a lap while working with teammate Martin Truex Jr.
· Testing, Testing: Reutimann participated in the Goodyear Tire Test at California Speedway on Tuesday.
· Meet The Driver: Reutimann will sign autographs at the MWR merchandise display on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.
